TPS-TIE

For interior designers/consultants that sell or provide tangible personal property (furnishings, fixtures, artwork, or other goods) to their clients, the correct tax treatment is determined by who is responsible for payment of the goods as noted in the contract or agreement between the seller and buyer.

Some of the methods by which interior designers/consultants may contract to sell tangible personal property to their clients include:

Buying and reselling tangible personal property

Sales to consumers

Interior designers, decorators and consultants are taxed differently depending on:

• The type of service you provide,
• If you provide or sell tangible personal property,
• The method you use to provide the service or sell the tangible personal property.

Design or consulting services (you are not responsible for the performance of the property improvements)

These services include working with clients to determine their particular needs and décor options and may include:

Improving real property – services provided in respect to construction

When you provide both design services and perform actual improvements to the real property, the taxability of the activity is determined by the predominant activity performed for the entire contract.

Income received by insurers that is subject to the premiums tax, is exempt from business and occupation (B&O) tax (RCW 82.04.320). However, the B&O tax exemption does not extend to sales tax or use tax. Insurers are consumers of tangible personal property and retail services, and must pay sales or use tax on the goods and retail services used in Washington. This guide has been prepared to help insurers understand their sales and use tax liability.

Business License Application: Most businesses operating in Washington State are required to register. You register by completing a Business License Application. When you submit your application, you will receive a Unified Business Identifier (UBI) number and a Business License to post at your location.

RCW 48.14.080 clearly states that insurers are subject to sales tax or use tax on tangible personal property, extended warranties, digital goods and codes, and retail services. It says:

Sales tax is paid directly to the retailer where items are purchased.

Use tax is reported and paid to the Department of Revenue with a regular excise tax return. Alternatively, insurers that are not registered with the Department may pay use tax by selecting one of the methods below:

The Department of Revenue offers many services to make reporting your taxes as convenient as possible. The following list contains a sampling of the Department’s services.

Our website offers a wide variety of information and resources for your business:

Introduction

This guide is intended to help manufacturing businesses understand their tax reporting responsibilities and the various tax incentives available to them. This guide provides general tax information only and is not a substitute for laws and rules.

For more information or to get answers to specific questions, please contact us.

Updated March 2025

The department created this guide to help lodging businesses better understand which Washington state taxes apply to them.

Here are some examples of lodging: